1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to vessel and/or tank inspection and monitoring, and more particularly to detections and characterizations of impacts and leaks in vessels and/or tanks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pressure vessels used in commercial and military applications are typically filled with fluids including oil, gasoline, and hazardous liquids and gases. Ideally, these pressure vessels are stored in tamper-proof environments. However, the pressure vessels must often be transported. Due to the portable nature of the pressure vessels, the pressure vessels themselves may be subjected to tampering causing leaks to occur and potentially hazardous situations to arise, especially if the enclosed fluid is flammable or toxic. The tampering may or may not be the result of sabotage or other dubious form of tampering. In fact, the tampering may be a result of chemical or mechanical failures of the pressure vessel due to fatigue, rupture, rusting, or other form of breakdown.
Furthermore, given certain military applications and recent threats to civilian infrastructure, the pressure vessels may be subjected to ballistic impacts from ammunition, projectiles, or missiles. In fact, in some situations friendly fire may result in unintended ballistic impacts on the pressure vessels and in some cases the normal operational environment results in impacts on the pressure vessel. However, some of these impacts may not result in penetration of the pressure vessel. Moreover, some of these impacts are mere noise associated with the transportation of the pressure vessels.
For example, if a pressure vessel were to be transported in or as an integral part of an open vehicle, train, or other form of transportation, stones may skip onto the pressure vessel causing an impact on the pressure vessel. However, these impacts are often minimal causing mere surface abrasions on the pressure vessel to appear, but may, nonetheless, alarm those in proximity to the pressure vessel (for example, the driver of the vehicle) that perhaps the pressure vessel has been penetrated or that the impact has potentially damaged the pressure vessel, which may cause failure at some time in the future.
Additionally, a pressure vessel, which contains a hypothermic fluid may cause condensation to form on the outside of the pressure vessel. When viewed, this condensation may cause alarm if it is not known whether the condensation is in fact condensation, or what the source of the condensation is, or whether the condensation is fluid which has leaked from the pressure vessel itself or from a nearby pressure vessel.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method to monitor pressure vessels, which provide an accurate determination of any leaks or penetrations of the pressure vessel and which differentiate between significant impacts or leaks and mere noise (i.e., insignificant environmental effects on the pressure vessel, such as minimal impacts or condensation).